A new Era of Peace
by Lyra Alexandra
Summary: With 3 choices to make, Shepard made the only choice she felt she could: Synthesis. But despite the Catalyst's claims, she didn't die. But the question is - does Shepard have a place in this new universe, where heroes are no longer needed?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter I**

**Destroy, Control, or Synthesis? If Shepard chose to destroy the reapers, the Geth and Edi would die too. She couldn't do that, not after everything she went through to secure peace between the Geth and Quarians. And Edi, **_**I can't sacrifice her, she's one of us**_**, Joker would be devastated. No, Destroy was not an option, Control then? Follow the Illusive Man after all? Her battle hardened instincts were pulling her back, there are too many uncertainties, too many things can go wrong, and what the hell was she going to do with an army of Reapers? Synthesis was the only option, from what this boy was saying - creating a new DNA framework, a complete and mutual understanding between organics and synthetics - it actually sounded like the peace Shepard's been fighting for. But she would have to die. Garrus; she was going to have to leave him, again. Shepard could feel every crack, every splinter as her heart broke into millions of pieces. Not just at the thought of never seeing him again, which in itself was too painful to bear, but the thought of what it would do to him? He told her once that when she had died and he was left alone in the universe, nothing mattered to him anymore. He felt a large part of him had died with her and the rest was just waiting to catch up - his setting up a base on Omega was the only way he could cope; trying to implement everything Shepard had taught him. She nearly screamed at the injustice of this universe - She and Garrus lost each other, found each other again and now she had to die again.**

**The logical part of her brain chipped in; if you don't chose something you, he or both might even die anyway, not to mention all the other countless innocent people in the galaxy. She sighed, that was true. But is he telling the truth or is this all some trick? Even if it is, what choice did she have? In the end she could only do exactly as she had done in the past; follow her instincts.**

**Shepard started walking as fast as she could, which was barely faster than a crawl. Her limbs and open wounds protested every movement she made, at this rate the beam seemed an impossible distance away. She kept going, leaning over so as not to cause more pain to her left side when finally she gave up; **_**what's the use? If I'm going to die, trying to save myself a few moments of pain is pointless**_**. She dropped the gun and started running, tears already running freely down her face as she pictured Garrus, Tali, Joker, Kaiden, Liara, Wrex...**

**Without hesitating Shepard leapt off the platform and into the centre of the beam. Searing pain erupted throughout her body; never before had she felt pain like this. She could feel this beam, whatever it was moving through tissue, muscle, down to the bone and continuing through. Her body began to feel lighter as parts of her skin burned away, but still she could not escape the images causing yet another kind of pain. **_**Why do I have to die?**_** Shepard gritted her teeth, but not in pain, in pure seething rage. There was no way she was giving up her life, not again! She had too much to lose, too much to live for, and she was supposed to die just because some little synthetic boy programme told her to? Never!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

**Muffled noises sounded somewhere in the background. Explosions? Gunshots? Then there was something else - some sort of scraping sound; like someone was dragging something across the floor but what she had no idea. All she knew was that she wanted it to stop, the more sounds she started hearing; the more she became aware of the pain. Every part of her ached so fiercely she couldn't pinpoint any one thing that hurt the most; she felt like she had been thrown out of a speeding shuttle - and she'd had some experience with this.**

**Every sound made her head throb worse; she let out an involuntary groan. Shepard had no idea how long it took her to open her eyes but when she did she immediately regretted it. The light stung her eyes and she groaned again. It was easily another few minutes before she tried again, it still hurt, badly but this time she able to make out at least a few blurred images. She blinked several times, each time the pain easing and the images becoming clearer.**

**It wasn't long before she could clearly make out objects in front of her; she seemed to be in a corridor staring at what was that? Rubble? Why was there Rubble? Where was she? And what was that scraping noise?**

**If Shepard had had enough energy she might have jumped when she saw the pile of rubble move and a Keeper appear at the bottom of it. So that's what the scraping sound was; the Keepers were clearing up the Rubble. So she must be on the Citadel then. Why was she here again? Not important right now. She needed to get out of here, find help.**

**She tentatively moved her left hand forward and winced; she must have been lying on her right side so long her left arm had become stuck to her dried blood. Not wanting to tear her arm away in case she started bleeding again. She tried moving her legs this time, they responded, however sluggishly. Now she tried her other arm lying flat against the ground above her head, she had enough strength to prop herself into an uncomfortable sitting position. She doubted very much that she could stand, just getting to this stage had taken most of the energy she had. She was never going to make it far like this, especially since she was at the top of a flight of stairs, she cursed; she could never make it down there without causing a lot of damage. Then her addled brain finally registered something; the Keepers were taking the rubble somewhere, if she climbed on one of them it might take her at least to a place she was likely to be found. Now she just had to get to the other end of the room. **

**With agonising slowness Shepard dragged herself across the floor until she finally stopped at the bottom of a large slab, exhausted. She wasn't done yet, mustering all her remaining energy she dragged herself onto the slab of rubble and passed out.**

**Voices reached Shepard ears but they sounded miles away, she couldn't make out what they were saying but from their tone, they sounded urgent. She half opened her eyes again, a black blurred image walked into her field of vision.**

**"Are you OK?" Shepard opened her mouth and tried to speak but her throat was too dry and stuck together. A strangled gargle was the best she could manage. She was vaguely aware of something pulling at her. **_**What now?**_** She thought and passed out again.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

**"What are you doing Joker? We can't leave her there! We have to go back!" Garrus shouted at the back of the pilot chair. "Joker!"**

**"Shepard asked us to save the crew and the Normandy. She made us promise we would not put either at risk for her, Garrus. You know that's what she would have wanted." Edi answered when Joker didn't respond.**

**"But…" Garrus whispered defeated. He knew Edi was right but that still did not change his position. They needed to go back, she could still be alive and Garrus knew, she would do it for them.**

**The exchange going on inside the cockpit did not go unnoticed by Joker but he was consumed by so many conflicting emotions he couldn't possibly voice any opinion on the matter. He whole heartedly agreed with Garrus, he should turn the ship around and search for Shepard - she sacrificed herself to save him once and now he was racing in the opposite direction. But on the other hand, Shepard made him **_**promise**_** not to put the ship and the crew in danger for **_**anything**_**. Joker understood that, he already lost one Normandy and he knew how strongly Shepard felt for her crew. She wouldn't want any of them to die for her. So he gave the Normandy's engines everything they had to escape the beam. She's probably the only ship that could outrun it.**

**The Normandy's engines kicked into high gear and at last she was able to pull away from the beam. Veering off from its path, Joker sent the ship to land on the nearest planet. Sparks flew out all over the ship, the drive core over heated and blew, the ship went dark, Joker's console blinked on and off, fighting to stay functional.**

**"Prepare for emergency landing. This is gonna hurt." Joker spoke into the ship's comm. The crew immediately began strapping themselves down in chairs, checking cargo was still secure and sealing off parts of the ship.**

**Garrus could see the ground coming toward them at a terrifying rate. "Joker!"**

**"I know" Joker yelled backed. "I'm trying." Edi's arms were flying around the flickering consoles, resorting to whatever manual means she had to slow the ship down.**

**They were coming low into foliage now, thankfully there didn't seem to be anything to solid, just small twigs and vines that might actually help to slow the ship down. But Joker knew there wasn't enough ground clearance to make enough of a difference. The ground rose up to meet them too fast. The Normandy jolted as she hit the ground and slid to a stop at the edge of the foliage.**

**A wave of dirt launched into the air at the Normandy's arrival settled on top of the lifeless ship. **

**"Jeff." Edi's synthetic voice broke the eerie silence. She didn't receive a reply. Unbuckling her harness, she climbed out of her chair and knelt beside Joker. He was slumped in the chair, his arms hung limp by his side. "Jeff!" Edi tried again, gently pushing him back in the chair. An involuntary groan escaped his lips.**

**"Urgh… Edi?" He said quietly opening his eyes.**

**"Yes Jeff, it's me."**

**"Garrus?"**

**"I'm here." Came a voice from his other side. "Nice landing."**

**"Thanks. How you doing?" Joker's voice was strained.**

**"A little bruised, definitely going to need a vacation after this." Garrus joked, unbuckling his harness. "Come on, you need to get to the Med Bay."**

**"No, I need to fix the ship and go back for Shepard." Joker protested as Garrus lifted him out of the chair.**

**"I can do all necessary repairs to the Normandy. I will inform you the moment we are ready to fly." Said Edi as Joker was led out of the Cockpit. She wasted no time and made her way straight down to Engineering. **

**Tali was already out of her safety harness and hard at work on the problem. "Edi how is Joker? That was a hard landing?"**

**"Garrus took him to the Med Bay, he will be fine."**

**"Good, I can't say the same for the drive core. Several major power conduits were either damaged or destroyed when we landed. I can bypass most of it but with the main conduits damaged we're haemorrhaging power. The H-fuel cells were only designed to be used as an auxiliary power supply." Tali explained, somewhat pointlessly since she was essentially explaining the ship's situation to the ship.**

**"Understood, use the power we have left to bypass as many systems as you can. I will lead a team to repair the conduits." Tali nodded.**

**For the first time since becoming the Shadow Broker, Liara's screens were black. She needed to reconnect with her communication network before the galaxy lost faith in the scope and permanency of the Shadow Broker. She needed information on Shepard and what really happened on the Crucible. Liara knew just the person to see.**

**Heading out of her cabin to the elevator, Liara punched the digital screen for the CIC. Specialist Traynor wasn't at her usual spot by the Galaxy Map, not that there was much point since there was no glow from the Galaxy Map. The only other logical place for her to be would be the War Room; she was probably already trying to restore communications.**

**Sure enough, as soon as Liara entered the War Room Specialist Traynor was pouring over her diagnostic tools.**

**"Traynor, what's the situation with the Normandy's communications?" Liara asked, walking purposely toward the comm. specialist.**

**"I'm not detecting any problems with the computers; and I just ran my equipment over the comm. room." Traynor replied, straightening with a sigh. "I found nothing."**

**"What are you saying?"**

**"I'm saying that there is no problem with the Normandy's communications. Everything is working as it's supposed to, or at least it would if we had power."**

**"Then why did all my screens go blank?"**

**"My guess is that beam knocked out all the comm. buoys." Liara sighed. "Edi will fix the ship, then we can fly back and find Shepard." Traynor continued, sensing at least some of Liara's concern.**

**"You're right. We knew there would be a lot of work to do after this war was over. At least now we have a place to start."**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

**"Come on sweetheart; you need to wake up now. People need you. It's chaos out there and they need a leader; that leader is you! You know, I've always known you were meant for great things. Ever since you were a little girl; you would play with your little model ships saying that one day you would captain a great ship and have a great crew behind you. You would fly through the galaxy defeating bad people and rescuing the innocent. And you know what? I never doubted it for a second, even though you were only 8 when you said it." Hannah Shepard broke off and laughed to herself.**

**"How do you always know when I'm awake?" A hoarse voice came from the bed.**

**"You flare your nostrils when you sleep." Shepard groaned and opened her eyes. "How do you feel?"**

**"Like I had a fist fight with a 2 mile high Reaper… and lost." She joked. Hannah smiled.**

**"Well you didn't lose. The crucible fired, a green beam, it went through the planet and all the ships in orbit; including the Reapers, then it activated the mass. I don't suppose you could explain to me exactly what happened because I'm having a little trouble wrapping my head around it?" Hannah Shepard, like her daughter was known for her glib and often sarcastic comments. Shepard could tell from her tone that she neither blamed, nor disapproved of the dramatic change brought about by her daughter.**

**"Well…" Shepard winced in pain as she tried to prop herself up on a mountain of pillows behind her. Hannah immediately moved in to help. "Ah… I went up in the beam into some part of the Citadel I'd never seen before; an AI told me he was the catalyst, and that the Citadel was a part of him, not the other way around. He gave me a choice, and I made it." Shepard gave the cliff notes version of what actually happened; she knew she would have to recount this story hundreds of times so for now the abridged version would have to do.**

**"And Anderson made it up too?" Hannah asked.**

**"Yes." Was all Shepard could manage; a lump caught in her throat.**

**"And he didn't make it back down?"**

**"No. Can we talk about that later? I need to see my crew, where are they?" Shepard had been aching to see them and the Normandy ever since she woke up but figured she had to remain patient in front of her mother since it looked as though she had slept at her bed side for days. "Have you heard from Daniel?"**

**"We don't know where they are. We lost all communication when the Crucible fired and the Mass Relays are down, so if they went through just before the beam…As for your brother, I haven't heard from him since the two of you set up that base on Prospect, complete radio silence, remember? That was quick thinking though - the food, and medical supplies they sent saved a lot of lives." **_**My crew are stranded in empty space, running out of supplies and neither they nor Daniel would have any way to get back or tell us where they are.**_

**Shepard didn't believe that; she couldn't, no way was her ship, crew and brother stuck and helpless. She remembered the promise she had made both Joker and Edi make - to save the ship and the crew; abandon her and get to safety; as far as they needed to go - but somehow the Normandy **_**felt**_** close. No, Daniel was alright; that base was far beneath the surface of a long abandoned world in the Iera system and they made their own supplies - that was the whole point of the base. She'd discovered the planet on her searches through the galaxy looking for raw resources to upgrade the Normandy. From what she could gather the planet must have been used for something pretty similar to what she needed it for; mining heavy metals - the equipment and infrastructure were already in place, but long abandoned. Any civilians she found that wanted to help with the war or a safe haven from the fighting, she sent to the base and her brother took care of them. The small colony on Venture and any refugees that fled to Horizon were all welcome. She even set Oriana Lawson up on the base. And she knew for a fact that the Reapers had never been to that system. She kept strict control over communications and flights.**

**She let it go for now.**

**Shepard switched to the only way she knew how to cope with bad news; she went straight back to work. "So what's the situation out there?"**

**The already slightly wrinkled face of her mother, frowned. She took a deep breath. "Ever since you were brought in here Hackett has been desperate to get in; he needs information on what happened and on what's happening now."**

**"What's happening now?" Shepard almost shouted in alarm.**

**"The Reapers… They're claiming that they are on our side now; that they are a true AI and want to help us. They're actually working on the Mass Relays; the Sol Relay is almost fully functional again. The people are scared; they don't know if they can trust them - or even should trust them - if this is some kind of trick? But that beam… That did something - it changed us - everyone can feel it but they're not saying anything. If they don't get answers soon…"**

**Shepard knew exactly what she was thinking - if they're kept in the dark much longer, complete anarchy would break out.**

**"Hackett is doing his best to keep everything under control but people are confused; the reality of what they've lost is starting to sink in and getting people to focus on anything has been difficult. He has a team of the best engineers from every race working on bringing the comm. buoys back up. The remaining Rachni that stayed on the Crucible have been a big help in diagnosing the problems with the Relay and buoys; the other races are helping of course but most are…"**

**"Battle-scarred and bone weary?" Shepard added helpfully.**

**"Exactly."**

**"Why aren't the council getting involved? They should be leading their races; rallying them to keep going."**

**"The councillors are dead. The races out there in their ships, lying in these halls and down there on Earth, for the first time, have no leader. They're lost" Shepard senior hesitated.**

**Shepard understood; this is going to be one hell of a transition period for the entire galaxy; and she had work to do.**

**"How bad are my injuries? When can I get out of here?"**

**Taken aback by Shepard's abrupt change in topic, she hastily began explaining as a frown formed on her face. "You have a lot of muscle and tissue damage, some bone damage as well but the doctors say you won't need a bone graft. You're on as high a dose of Medi-Gel as they can give you and it seems to be working; your implants are healing the damage but they can't keep you on the Medi-Gel forever. Sooner or later they're going to have to take you off…"**

**"So when can I get out of here?" Shepard interrupted impatiently. **

**Hannah frowned. "They would be willing, although not happy, to release you in a few days. They'll need to wrap up the most damaged areas to give your muscles enough support. I told them that you would give them more trouble than they could handle if they forced you to stay here and that you would likely find a way to leave with or without their permission." The famous glibness came through in the Admiral's voice again; so similar to Shepard's own.**

**"Thanks." Shepard said sheepishly.**

**"You're welcome. Although I did give them my word that you would check in at least twice a week to have your bandages checked; I figured every day was pushing it a bit."**

**"Yeah…" Shepard laughed.**

**"And I'll be checking in with your doctors to make sure you are checking in, so don't bother trying to ditch the doctors the second your out of here!"**

**"But…!" Sheppard senior silenced her with a look. "Alright. Twice a week." **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

**The Salarian doctor had already been in to see Shepard that morning; with the help of an Asari nurse they had wrapped Shepard's legs, arms, and almost her entire left side, front and back. Her muscles protested the movements the entire time; the Medi-Gel was wearing off fast and the full extent of how badly injured she really was sunk in. **

**"This tape will support your damaged muscles and prevent further injury but it will still be painful. You will need to build them up again." The Salarian doctor explained. "It will be a long while before you are back to the strength and fitness you were before."**

**"That's alright doctor, hopefully I won't need strength and fitness anymore." Shepard Joked through clenched teeth as the two medical staff finished taping her up.**

**"I would like you to start off just walking around your room and then maybe out into the hospital if you feel up to it - no further! Understand?"**

**Shepard nodded. "I'll stay within the confines of my prison, Warden. I promise." Her mother frowned at her. Shepard cracked a small smile at the doctor to indicate she was joking. He just nodded and left the room.**

**Shepard groaned as she tried to sit up using only her right arm to push against the bed but it was hopeless. The tape on her left side made it difficult to move - or maybe it was just her muscles that were no longer up to the task. With the help of her mother, Shepard sat up and swung one leg off the bed at a time. Her legs felt like they weighed a ton! She had to take a second and lean against her mother before she could muster the energy to push herself off the bed.**

**"OK, here we go!" She said as she gently pushed forward on the bed and slowly brought her bare feet into contact with the cold ground. Hannah had a protective grip around her shoulders and was ready to step in should Shepard fall to the floor.**

**Amazingly she didn't! Her knees buckled and Hannah took hold of her but she remained on her feet. "I'm alright… I think."**

**The Admiral nodded and slowly moved her arms away as Shepard, concentrating with everything she had, picked up her right leg and moved it forward. She experimentally moved her weight onto it and smiled when her knee didn't buckle. She took a turn around the hospital room but had to take a seat for a few moments to catch her breath, her legs throbbing sickeningly.**

**The throbbing subsided quickly with the weight off them. Shepard looked down at her battered and bruised legs, not an inch of them looked like a human colour; she hadn't properly seen the state of the rest of her body but she couldn't imagine it looking much better. **

**Very slowly she twisted her feet around in circles; it actually felt good, she then tried stretching her legs out in front of her but immediately pulled back when a spasm of pain shot up them.**

**Ready for another try, she stood and walked around the hospital room again; and then she did it again without the rest. Her legs protested a little but not enough that she thought it was time to stop.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI**

**The ship seemed eerily empty, although it was full of the same people that normally crew the Normandy - minus one of course - but it was more than that. Despite the repairs to the ship being nearly complete, most of the crew had vacated the CIC; even Joker abandoned his post at the cockpit - no point in sitting at the flight controls until the ship was ready to fly. Throughout the entire ship, everyone had somewhere to be; somewhere they were needed but for the second time in his life Garrus had no idea what to do with himself. Sure the main gun would probably need calibrated but even that couldn't interest him. He wandered aimlessly through the halls of the home he and Shepard shared, every inch of it reminding him of her absence. He was desperate to be closer to her, never once believing that she was dead. Garrus had no idea if it was just wishful thinking or if there was something to this feeling. All he knew was that his despair was not as bone deep and penetrating as it had been when the original Normandy was destroyed. And suddenly he knew exactly where he wanted to be.**

**With renewed purpose Garrus raced to the elevator and punched the console. The elevator doors opened, revealing the loft space. The door to Shepard's cabin was unlocked; just as she'd left it. That thought sent a stab of pain through his heart and he dismissed it with a shake of his head.**

**Slowly he walked toward the door and operated the door controls. A wave of scents instantly filled his nostrils - that distinctly Shepard smell that he couldn't hope to describe but would recognise it even in a coma! Despite his grief, Garrus found himself smiling; already calmed, purely by her smell.**

**He stepped inside, his eyes drawn to her desk, her long service medal stood proudly front and centre - he had convinced her to put it there - as soon as she received it, she put it in a drawer. Shepard was never one for displaying her accomplishments but he was proud and she finally gave in.**

**Lifting his eyes, he examined the extensive model ship collection. Garrus chuckled; he would always remember their trips to the citadel and Shepard's excited voice as she finds another model ship she didn't have. She even had a little model of the Normandy!**

**And there was her other favourite hobby; the fish tank. She used to say that no matter what else was going on, she could always take a moment and watch them swim; perhaps a little envious of their simple life. She had fish from nearly all the council worlds; all purchased from either the Citadel or the Omega Markets of course. Garrus made a mental note; if he was ever reunited with Shepard, he would take her to his homeworld and catch a fish for her.**

**He stepped up to the glowing panel on the wall opposite the fish tank and set the music playing quietly while he took a seat on the couch with the best view of the entire cabin; reminiscing over the times spent in here; most of it being Shepard pouring over a datapad at the desk just off his right shoulder.**

**None of the crew had said anything; they all felt Shepard's loss. Liara was back in her cabin, her screens still lifeless, she had her VI Glyph searching through the extranet data caches for any relevant information before the comm. buoys were hit with the beam and judging by the beeping of her omni-tool, Glyph had found something. Her eyes flew across the data pad, growing wider as she reached the bottom.**

**Shepard made it to the beam with Anderson, but for some reason the Crucible wasn't firing. Hackett still had a communications channel open with Shepard; she must have figured out why the Crucible didn't fire and fixed the problem. Which means…? Liara didn't dare hope. Shepard might still be alive inside the Citadel, trapped where ever that beam took her, and without any way of calling them for help.**

**The little flicker of hope threatening to overwhelm her as she read through the data cache now finally erupted and sent Liara into a frenzy. Shepard might be alive; they just needed to find her. She raced from her cabin eager to tell the rest of the crew when something caught her eye.**

**Stepping back inside her cabin, she dropped the data pad on the floor; no longer of interest to her and slowly walked toward her computer. It was blinking. **_**But that's impossible, the comm. buoys were all damaged, there's no way they could have been fixed so soon.**_** She tapped a few keys and accessed the waiting message. One line was all there was in the black screen directly in front of her: Sol Relay - connection re-established.**

**Liara couldn't believe her eyes! The comm. buoy **_**and **_**the Mass Relay was operational - now that really was impossible; it would take even the Salarian's more than a week to fix both. Again she pressed a few keys, the screen instantly flooded with information - communications passing back and forth within the system; it would take a long time to sift through all of this. She set Glyph on the task right away, setting up simple parameters for a search - anything with: 'Shepard'; 'Hackett'; 'Relays'; 'Reapers'; and anything else she could think of. She hoped the Normandy would be ready to fly soon, she hated being this isolated. She decided, while Glyph was running his search, she would go down to Engineering and see how Tali and Edi were coming with the repairs. She thought it best to wait to tell everyone that the comm. was back until she actually had something to tell them. She noticed her other screens stayed dark.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter VII**

**Finally gaining access to see her Hackett stormed into Shepard's hospital room. She sat on the bed waiting for him.**

**"Admiral." She nodded as he entered the room.**

**He opened his mouth and paused. She looked terrible; the cuts and bandages he could see poking out underneath her N7 uniform she always wore. The way she sat on the bed, it was obvious she was in pain. He had never seen Commander Shepard look so fragile; so human. It took a long moment before he was able to form the words he needed to say.**

**"I need you to tell me what happened. Why weren't the Reapers destroyed when the Crucible fired? Why are they helping us?"**

**"Would you like a seat, Admiral?" Shepard asked innocently, indicating the chair just off to his left.**

**"No, I want to know what's going on." **

**"Take a seat Steven." Shepard said forcefully. "This is a long story and you're going to need it!"**

**Taken aback by Shepard's use of his first name, he was about to scald her for insubordination but thought better of it. Instead he took the seat offered him and waited.**

**Shepard recounted the whole thing, in as much detail as she could. He made to interrupt her on several occasions but she raised a hand to quiet him. Finally after what felt like an age, Shepard came to the end of her story and waited for the penny to drop.**

**Hackett's face was an almost comical mix of awe and shock; he sat there frozen for a long time before he spoke, at first Shepard was worried he was having a stroke until finally his deep voice broke the stunned silence.**

**"A new DNA?" He said slowly.**

**"Yes, I'm sure you've noticed that everyone both organic and inorganic have changed at the genetic level. Every organic now has synthetic implants and every synthetic has understanding. We're on equal terms now; this was the only way I could see of ending the war and finally having peace, not just because of what that AI was saying but because of our history. If you look back to every organic species; synthetic life has always been there; the Quarians and the Geth; Cerberus and their synthetic augmentations; hell even the Protheans made synthetics and each time the synthetics rose up against their creators…"**

**"So isn't that a prime excuse for destroying synthetics forever?" Hackett asked; annoyance in his voice.**

**"But it wouldn't be forever, would it? Future generations - so far into the future that our stories now are nothing more than legend - they will build synthetics and the cycle will start all over again. And as for control? How is that any different than destroying them? They would have no will of their own, no distinct parameters - we would turn them on ourselves - don't you get it? Synthesis; blurring the line between organic and synthetic, finally having a mutual understanding of each other? We've never had that before. For the first time, since this cycle began, the entire galaxy put aside their differences and fought together. And they are still together now." Shepard stopped, a little out of breath, surprised by her own outburst.**

**"Alright." Hackett said after several minutes of consideration. "I agree with you, but more than that… I trust your judgment, Shepard. I should never have come in here accusing you of something before I knew all the facts. It won't happen again." Shepard was surprised by this apology; Hackett was known for many things but sentimentality wasn't one of them. Perhaps she didn't know Hackett as well as she thought she did.**

**He cleared his throat and began talking again. "Shepard…" He hesitated and sighed. "I know you've been through a lot but I have one finally task I need you to do."**

**"What is it Admiral?" Said Shepard straitening to attention, at least as straight as she could manage.**

**Hackett saw her face twinge in pain as she moved; he hated having to ask her to do this after everything else but he had no choice. "I need you to be the new human councillor." Hackett silenced her as she tried to protest. "I know how much you hate politics and I know you're far from your best but we don't have a choice. You are the one that united a galaxy; you are their symbol of strength, without you… The galaxy will break apart and like you said, nothing will have changed."**

**Hackett stood. "Take some time to think about it; no doubt you will need to discuss it with your crew."**

**Shepard's head shot up. "My crew?"**

**"Yes, we just received a communication from the Normandy this morning, everyone is alive and well, the repairs to the ship were finished this afternoon and she's flying home. She should be here tomorrow morning."**

**Shepard couldn't believe her luck; not only had she survived but Garrus, her crew and the Normandy had as well! And they were coming for her. The joy and relief exploded through her, her eyes immediately began watering but she blinked back the tears for the moment; she couldn't cry in front of Hackett.**

**"I haven't told them this but the Turians and Quarians are insisting they be represented and that their council either come from your team or are hand picked by you."**

**"What about the Asari?"**

**"There isn't much of a chain of command left for the Asari after Thessia was hit."**

**"And the Salarians?"**

**"It's mostly the STG that are with us but they feel their government doesn't deserve a place among the council anymore."**

**Shepard nodded and Hackett left. If she hadn't already been sitting down, she would definitely need to now. A lot of conflicting emotions were swirling around her now; her crew was alive and on there way , but on the other hand, her work wasn't finished yet and judging by the way Hackett was describing the situation, her appointment as human councillor was not going to be a temporary arrangement. And what of her crew - they hated politics just as much as she did; Garrus told her once that he was looking forward to ending this war just so his people would stop asking him what to do. Now he was going to have to dedicate even more time to lead them through this new age. And Tali? She was so young, of course that didn't matter to Shepard but she still had so much more in life ahead of her - she had a house to build on her homeworld. Of course they would all be together, probably forever, the Normandy could be their flagship, as the Destiny Ascension was for the previous council. Really how different would their lives be - less running around and fighting, more politics. Shepard groaned inwardly. **

**She sighed; it was not her place to decide what her crew should or shouldn't do. It was their choice, and whatever they chose the galaxy would just have to live with it. She could feel a hint of the old Shepard returning; that natural instinct to lead coming back.**

**Shepard yawned, exhausted by the information overload and her long walks around the hospital. She decided she would have an early night so she could be well rested and ready to meet her crew at the docking bay tomorrow.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter VIII**

**Shepard woke early the next morning, although with the Citadel's perpetual artificial sunlight it was impossible to tell that it was early morning. Only the clock on Shepard's bedside indicated that it was 4am local time. She had no idea what time the Normandy was due to arrive but she thought it best to loosen her muscles beforehand. It took a good 10 minutes before Shepard's stiff muscles allowed her to get into a sitting position and swing her legs down. She twisted and stretched her muscles gently, when she was satisfied they would support her weight she pushed off the bed.**

**The hospital was as silent as a graveyard; only a few night nurses operated at this hour. Strolling past them out of Huerta and into the elevator, the digital display glowed. She was about to tap Presidium Commons when a thought struck her and she chose Silversun Strip instead.**

**The Strip didn't look anything like she was used to - it was relatively undamaged but barren, she easily found her way over to the Tiberius Towers and into Anderson's apartment. As soon as she opened the door and found it looked just like she left it, she laughed, for the first time since probably the last time she was in this apartment. She walked around, just as she did the first time but this time she didn't access any of the recorded data files scattered all over the apartment. That was the one major difference. She wasn't just house sitting for Anderson anymore; he was never coming back to this beautiful place. A deep pang of loss and guilt pierced her heart and threatened to set her crying again but she bit it back. She had to be the pillar of strength the galaxy needed her to be.**

**She cleared her throat and carried on through the house. Amazingly there was still some food left in the freezer - probably Kaiden's idea of a joke, he knows I can't cook. She was hungry though, **_**maybe there's something simple in here.**_** She pulled out a casserole and placed it in the oven. While that was cooking she wandered through to the games room; to a blinking green light on her computer.**

_**What? The comm. buoys are down, how can I have a message?**_** She brought up her personal extranet account and collapsed in the chair when she saw who the message was from: **_**Garrus!**_

**Wasting no time she opened the message, her heart beating rapidly. She read:**

_**Shepard**_

_**Hackett told me you were alive but I can't really believe it's true. I hope it is; spirits I couldn't bear it if I lost you again. I don't even know what to say - I've been sat at this computer for over an hour trying to… I don't know.**_

_**Ahh… Here's an update for you if you're alive and if you're not then this is just an exercise in pointless waste of time. The Normandy and the crew are fine, we're all OK. The Normandy took a bad landing after the Crucible… but she's fine now; Tali and Edi fixed her.**_

_**We're flying now, Joker doesn't want to risk burning out the drive again so he's taking it slow - she'll need another visit to dry dock when we're back! ETA 7am Citadel time.**_

_**If you're alive, we'll see you at docking bay D24 and if not… I guess we'll not.**_

_**I love you.**_

_**G**_

**7am?! That was just over 2 hours from now! She couldn't believe it! They would be in a few hours! They were OK. She looked at the time code on Garrus' message, he sent it 3 hours ago. She hit reply and typed her own message.**

_**Garrus! I can't believe we both made it; the crew and the Normandy! I can't wait to see you, I've missed you so much! It's been a nightmare stuck on this damn station, not knowing if you were dead or alive!**_

_**There's no point in wasting words on here. I'll meet you at the docking bay and I'll have everything set up for another party at Anderson's - not the last party we will ever throw.**_

_**All my love**_

_**Shepard.**_

**Shepard read and re-read Garrus' message; **_**typical Garrus, he hates typing out messages**_**, she laughed.**

**The timer beeped on the oven, she quickly took it out and placed it on the counter. She would let it cool there while she prepared. First she needed party food; she could go back to the bar in the casino but it's unlikely there would be anyone there **_**Ahh, I'll leave a note to reimburse them when the Citadel is back up - I am a councillor now and I'm entitled a little luxury**_** she thought, cheekily.**

**Garrus didn't really feel in the mood to calibrate the main gun but he was running out of sanity waiting around with nothing to do. **_**Urgh, this gun is going to take some serious work! That landing really did a number on it! **_**He thought.**

**He bent back over, ready to start the work when he heard a beep from the computer, he froze for a moment. **_**It couldn't be…**_

**Dropping his tools, he ran to the computer and opened his private messages**

**To: Garrus**

**From: Shepard.**

**He yelled in delight! Shepard was alive and waiting for him. He read the message several times, not even bothering to look up when the door to the main battery opened and Liara ran in.**

**"Garrus, are you alright? I heard you shout." The concern in her voice was clear.**

**"She's alive!" Was all he could manage.**

**"What?" She stepped behind Garrus and saw the name at the bottom of the message. Her breath caught, she and Garrus shared a look before, for the second time in as many days, she ran from the room and punched the ship wide intercom.**

**"Attention Normandy Crew. Prepare to meet your Commander at the docking bay in 2 hours." She announced. The ship immediately erupted in shouts and claps, people hugged each other, others punched the air and some just slumped in the chairs, tears flowing freely down their faces. Liara was one of the later, as was Garrus.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter IX**

**Everything was ready; the apartment was fully stocked with both Dextro and Levo food and drink. She had eaten as much of the casserole as she could, which wasn't much - she was far too exited to eat anything. In fact the Normandy wasn't due to arrive for another 30 minutes at least but she was down there; at docking bay D24. Her legs were throbbing as she paced up and down the docking bay but there was no way she could sit down. She tried but only managed about 20 seconds before she was up and about again. **

**"Shepard!" **

**She jumped and spun around in the direction of the voice.**

**"Bailey!" She exclaimed, walking toward him. "It's good to see you!"**

**"And you, I thought you were dead."**

**"Again you mean?" Shepard laughed. "They keeping you busy?"**

**"Yeah, I'm heading up the repairs to the Citadel."**

**"How's it going?"**

**"Slowly." Bailey grumbled. "The power's back to most of the station but there are still some places that we can't access. Feels like we just got this place going and now it's down again. What about you? What are you doing down here?"**

**"I'm waiting for my crew, they should arriving here soon."**

**Bailey nodded and brought up his omni-tool. "I've just authorised their entry and powered up the docking bay - we're trying to conserve power as much as possible so we're only turning on the power to whatever we're using."**

**She nodded. "I appreciate it Bailey. How are your supplies?"**

**Bailey took a deep breath. "We're down to the minimum limits; food, medical supplies, spare parts to repair the station." He shook his head.**

**Shepard made a mental note to get to her brother as soon as she could - there would be a lot of people needing the supplies they were hopefully still making.**

**The tell-tale buzz from Bailey's ear piece sounded, he looked away, his mind in another place. "Sorry Shepard, I gotta go. Duty calls."**

**"I understand. I'll be on the Citadel a while so I'll catch up with you later." An idea struck Shepard. "Hey Bailey. Do you have enough C-Sec guys to guard the Normandy when she gets here? And I mean properly guard her - I almost lost the Normandy once already, I don't want it happening again."**

**"Yeah, I could probably spare a few men but only because it's you Shepard."**

**"Thank you. When my crew get here and have a few days shore leave, I'll send some of them your way to help with the repairs to the Citadel, the rest will stay on the ship affecting repairs."**

**"I appreciate that Shepard. That'll be a real help."**

**He nodded and waved his goodbye. And Shepard went back to her waiting game again. **

**"Can't you make this thing go any faster?" Garrus demanded, back behind Joker's chair.**

**"I'm going as fast as I can big guy. I want to see Shepard too but there's no point in burning the drive out before we get there." Joker replied, calmly.**

**Garrus sighed. "Sorry Joker. I'm just..."**

**"Yeah, I know. We'll be within sight of the Citadel in a few minutes." **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter X**

_**There she is. My home. My haven. My family. **_

**The Normandy pulled into position, the docking clamps engaged. This was the first time she had ever seen the Normandy docking in a proper bay. It felt weird, having the ship somewhere else and watching her come back.**

**It was only a few minutes later that she finally saw her mate. He paused at the airlock door as he caught sight of her. Shepard's muscles ached terribly but she didn't even notice it anymore. She ran to him, as fast as she had ever ran before and leapt as she reached him.**

**Her muscles screamed as she collided with Garrus' armour but she didn't care. She ran her hand along his scarred face, tears brimming in her eyes.**

**"I love you Shepard." His voice caught a little as he said her name.**

**"I love you too."**

**"And we love you!" Tali's voice carried along the airlock. Garrus lowered her back to the ground. She stepped around him and hugged each one of them in turn. She couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She, Liara, and Joker were all crying; she couldn't see Tali's face but by the way she was sniffing every few seconds, it was pretty safe to say she was tearing up too**

**"Before we head up to the apartment, I need to speak to the rest of my crew" Shepard said as 3 Turians and 2 Humans in C-Sec armour stood to attention.**

**"Commander Shepard, Commander Bailey sent us down to guard your ship."**

**"Excellent. Make sure no-one even gets near her from any direction without my personal approval and that of at least one other member of my team."**

**"Understood." One of the Turians said.**

**Shepard stepped onboard the Normandy and the crew cheered. She raised her arms and activated the ship's comm.**

**"Attention all crew, this is Shepard. I think every one of you has earned a few days shore leave. I want every one of you to take this time to relax, unwind, have fun - but not too much." She smiled. "Assemble back at the Normandy in 3 days time 0900 for your assignments. Shepard out."**

**She waited until everyone stepped off the Normandy, she shook every hand in turn, spoke to a few until finally they all dispersed into the Citadel crowd.**

**"Come on guys, let's head back up to the apartment. I've already got everything set up, it's not much, the supplies are running low on the station. **

**Shepard waited until everyone had taken their seats in the apartment before she told her story. Just like Hackett, she told her crew what happened on the Crucible in detail; the green beam; the biological changes everyone experienced.**

**She let the story hang in the air for a while but she knew they sensed more to come.**

**"What else is it?" Garrus asked.**

**"The council's dead and the galaxy needs leaders. Hackett visited me in hospital; it seems I am to be the new human councillor. The Turians and the Quarians are insisting they be represented and that the rest of the council must only come from my crew or someone hand-picked by me." She let that sink in as well before continuing. "Garrus, Tali, Liara, as far as I'm concerned this is a purely optional choice for you; you've more than earned the right to tell the rest of the galaxy to go to hell if you want to."**

**"You sound like you've already accepted, did Hackett even give you a choice?" Tali asked.**

**"It wasn't Hackett's choice to make - I brought this galaxy together; like it or not I'm a symbol for them now and they'll be expecting me to at least, lead my own race. So I don't have a choice." **

**"I'll do it." Liara's voice oozed authority.**

**Shepard looked at her surprised. "Liara, are you sure? You don't have to agree to this just because I am."**

**"I know, Shepard. This isn't exactly my area of expertise but after meeting Javik, I realised that my area of expertise is probably obsolete. But it's not just that, after seeing Thessia fall, the panic and confusion - I need to help my people. There's no-one else to do it."**

**"Good point, alright..."**

**"Count me in." Said Garrus, getting to his feet dramatically. He moved over to stand beside Shepard**

**"And me." Tali stood as well.**

**"Wait, what? Garrus, I thought you said you hated making the tough decision for your entire people. And Tali, you have a homeworld and an immune system to adapt to it."**

**"I do hate making the tough decisions but we both know you wouldn't last a week in those podiums without me."**

**Shepard smiled, **_**that's true. **_**"Shepard, because of you, my people have a homeworld; the Geth are advancing our immune systems and helping us rebuild - who better to keep that peace than the Quarian that helped you do it." Tali said proudly.**

**"Can't argue with that logic." Shepard laughed.**

**"So what's our first act as council?" Tali asked.**

**"You don't want a sanity-check before we start working?"**

**"I think it best to inform the galaxy that they have a new council and get them focused on a task before we can take a break." Said Liara.**

**"Spoken like a true leader - you're already growing into your role." Shepard said with a smile. Liara turned a deeper shade of blue. "Alright, well I think the first thing is the Krogan and the Geth, I think they deserve to be council races after everything they've done." Shepard paused and everyone nodded.**

**"Wrex is still on Earth so I'll ask him if he wants the job, then we need to find a Geth representative. And the Reapers, I'm going to have to talk to them."**

**"Not easy when most of them are flying around in space." Tali laughed.**

**"True."**

**"The next thing we need is the Mass Relays and comm. buoys." Liara said.**

**"Agreed. I've been thinking about that - the Sol Relay is almost in the middle of the galaxy, if we get every race to split into teams of 3 we can send 2 of them out in opposite directions to fix the buoys and Relays while the third stays here and helps with the repairs to the Citadel. The Reapers can fly out to the furthest rim of the galaxy and start there, they've already fixed the Sol Relay and buoy."**

**"So why don't we just send the Reapers out to fix everything?" Garrus asked.**

**"Well, that would be better but I can't know for sure that the beam affected everyone in the same way - we may have all been changed at the genetic level but our beliefs are still the same. If an army of Reapers suddenly show up now, they might freak out and attack, the last thing we need right now is to start another war with the Reapers."**

**"Good point."**

**"It's going to take a lot of work to keep this galaxy trusting each other." Shepard sighed solemnly.**

**"We ended wars between Turian and Krogan; Quarian and Geth and for once got them fighting together. Keeping the peace can't be as difficult as fighting the Saren, the Collectors, **_**and **_**the Reapers." Said Garrus, half jokingly.**

**"I really hope your right."**

**The End**


End file.
